Protesthttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/protest
en-usFri, 09 Dec 2016 22:14:59 -0500Fri, 09 Dec 2016 22:14:59 -0500The latest news on Protest from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-protesting-the-election-trump-2016-11Here are 4 perception stages that contribute to the post-election protests and uneasinesshttp://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-protesting-the-election-trump-2016-11
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 21:44:00 -0500Frederic Lemieux
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/583367d5e02ba7e5008b5a81-2400/undefined" alt="Trump protests" data-mce-source="Reuters/Javier Galeano" data-mce-caption="People protest against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Miami, Florida, U.S. November 11, 2016." /></p><p>Since the results of the presidential election were made public, we have witnessed the emergence of a resistance movement protesting the election of Donald Trump.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/12/us/elections/photographs-from-anti-trump-protests.html?_r=0">Protests</a> have taken place in at least 52 American cities. A few <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/11/anti-trump_protests_held_for_f.html">turned violent</a>. There has also been a multitude of <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-hate-crimes-reported-election-splc-n683761">racial and hatred incidents</a> in schools, universities and public places.</p>
<p>Why are we witnessing so much division and violence?</p>
<p>My research and teaching focus on social movements &ndash; understanding their sources, evolution and decline. I believe we can understand the origins of the protests by examining how the expectations of the public were shaped at different stages of the election.</p>
<h2>Stage 1: Negative perception of candidates</h2>
<p>During the general election campaign, each candidate worked to delegitimize their opponent.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/20/hillary-clinton-trump-foundation/90736328/">portrayed Donald Trump as a fraud</a> for his shady business activities and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clinton-calls-trump-racist_us_57eaceb4e4b024a52d2b30b6">as a racist</a> for his views of Mexican immigrants and the endorsement he received by the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/01/the-kkks-official-newspaper-has-endorsed-donald-trump-for-president/">Ku Klux Klan</a>. They <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/clinton-alicia-machado-make-case-against-trump-n676511">said he was a woman hater</a> and a sexual aggressor for his upsetting remarks about groping women. And they <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/politics/clinton-puppet-vladimir-putin-trump/">called him a puppet</a> of Putin for allegedly working with Russia to leak incriminating Clinton emails.</p>
<p>For its part, the Trump campaign was not short of accusations against Hillary Clinton. They portrayed her as <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/05/10/donald-trump-slams-hillary-benghazi-policy-libya/">lacking judgment</a> for the Benghazi incident. They <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-emails-dominate-conversation-of-sunday-talk-show-circuit/2016/10/30/68d9e2b2-9eab-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html">called her a liar</a> and a criminal for allegedly breaking the law regarding the use of a private email server. They <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-emails-dominate-conversation-of-sunday-talk-show-circuit/2016/10/30/68d9e2b2-9eab-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html">said she was corrupt</a> for using her position as secretary of state to advance the Clinton Foundation and the <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/07/29/trump-hillary-owned-wall-street/">interests of Wall Street bankers</a>.</p>
<p>In both cases, the campaigns shaped the perception of the public that the other candidate was morally, ethically and legally unfit to be president. The consequence was a highly polarized and antagonistic political environment stirred by both <a href="http://graphics.wsj.com/blue-feed-red-feed/">left and right media echo chambers</a>.</p>
<p>This negative campaign elevated the <a href="http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2016/10/presidential-election-stress.aspx">level of anxiety and stress</a> in the population as the vitriolic arguments, stories and videos on social media increased concerns about both candidates.</p>
<p>Even before the campaign ended, violence was <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/02/a_list_of_violent_incidents_at_donald_trump_rallies_and_events.html">visible at Trump rallies</a> and with the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/16/politics/north-carolina-gop-office-vandalized/">firebombing of a Republican office</a> in North Carolina.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/58336807ba6eb671018b5a15-2400/ap16174704998952.jpg" alt="Hillary Clinton and supporters" data-mce-source="Chuck Burton/AP" data-mce-caption="Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets supporters as she takes the stage during a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-DEM-2016-Clinton/5052bd32c41246d5952aabdf41d30030/44/0" /></p>
<h2>Stage 2: False perception of victory</h2>
<p>During the general election, nearly all political pundits predicted the victory of Clinton and the failure of Trump. Poll analyst Nate Silver gave Clinton <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/final-election-update-theres-a-wide-range-of-outcomes-and-most-of-them-come-up-clinton/">a 71 percent chance of winning</a>. Sam Wang from Princeton University <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/scientist-predicts-99-chance-of-clinton-win-801634371744">put Clinton&rsquo;s chances</a> at 99 percent.</p>
<p>Even the analysts working for the Trump campaign <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-poll-losing-behind-hillary-clinton-presidential-election-2016-kellyanne-conway-a7377701.html">admitted</a> that his path to victory was narrow.</p>
<p>Overall, the vast majority of mainstream media downplayed any polls showing Trump leading the race and overplayed polls showing Clinton&rsquo;s lead.</p>
<p>This positive bias toward the Clinton campaign shaped the perception of the public and the partisan base of each party, setting false expectations for the Election Day results.</p>
<h2>Stage 3: Perception of a stolen election</h2>
<p>Trump&rsquo;s victory came as a shock, immediately shaping perceptions of the losers and winners.</p>
<p>For Clinton supporters, concerns related to President-elect Trump&rsquo;s unfit character turned to fear and a call to denounce the results, reject the new president and foster solidarity with those who felt disfranchised. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/fashion/safety-pin-ally-activism.html?_r=0">&ldquo;safety pin movement&rdquo;</a> began. Protesters gathered.</p>
<p>The frustration of the democratic base was heightened by the fact that Clinton <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/clinton-popular-vote-trump-2016-election-231434">won the popular vote</a>. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/11/11/anti-trump-protesters-pepper-sprayed-demonstrations-erupt-across-us/93633154/">Violence erupted</a> in some protests, like the ones in Portland, Oregon, but most were relatively calm.</p>
<p>Trump supporters were surprised by the election results, too. For some, the victory was perceived as a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/13/the-hate-after-trump-s-election-swastikas-deportation-threats-and-racist-graffiti.html">validation of racist values</a>. This led to several apparent hate crimes across the country such as <a href="http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/bethesda/swastikas-drawn-on-walls-at-md-middle-school/351091865">swastikas drawn in schools</a>, slogans painted calling to &ldquo;<a href="http://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2016/11/western_ny_dugout_defaced_with_make_america_white_again_swastika.html">Make America White Again</a>&rdquo; or students shouting &ldquo;white power&rdquo; or chanting &ldquo;build the wall.&rdquo;</p>
<h2><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/58336884ba6eb602688b4a10-2400/undefined" alt="Anti-Trump protest" data-mce-source="Yana Paskova/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Anti-Trump protest" />Stage 4: Perception of competency</h2>
<p>The next few weeks and months will be critical in shaping the perception of the public regarding the Trump administration&rsquo;s competency to lead the country through cabinet selection, domestic policy priorities and engagement with foreign nations.</p>
<p>For instance, the recent <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-chief-strategist_us_5828e1d4e4b0c4b63b0d33d7">nomination of Steve Bannon</a> as senior White House advisor has confirmed the perception of danger among African-American, Hispanic and Muslim communities. This negative view has led to institutional resistance from some in the U.S. Congress and even by state and <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/11/15/will-not-compromise-our-values-city-mayor-walsh-vows-ahead-donald-trump-administration/HIThlellty50YOyRhjbyiJ/story.html">local agencies</a>. For example, the Los Angeles Police Department <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-los-angeles-police-immigration-20161114-story.html">made a strong statement</a> refusing to participate in immigrant deportation.</p>
<p>What happens next is in the hands of the president-elect and those who surround him.</p>
<p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frederic-lemieux-147315">Frederic Lemieux</a>, Professor and Program Director of Bachelor in Police and Security Studies; Master&rsquo;s in Homeland Security; Master&rsquo;s in Cybersecurity Strategy and Information Management, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/george-washington-university-1262">George Washington University</a></em></span></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-2016-presidential-election-fear-protest-and-what-comes-next-68778">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/68778/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" async="async"></script><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-protesting-the-election-trump-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insectothopter-cia-dragonfly-spy-drone-military-defense-espionage-spies-2016-12">In the 1970s the CIA created a spy drone the size of a dragonfly</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-gather-in-istanbul-to-protest-the-turkish-governments-crackdown-on-civil-freedoms-2016-11Thousands gather in Istanbul to protest the Turkish government's crackdown on civil freedomshttp://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-gather-in-istanbul-to-protest-the-turkish-governments-crackdown-on-civil-freedoms-2016-11
Sun, 20 Nov 2016 14:34:33 -0500
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5831f6d3ba6eb606688b472f-2400/rtx2s1lv.jpg" alt="Riot police use water cannons to disperse protesters during a protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in Istanbul, Turkey November 5, 2016." data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Riot police use water cannons to disperse protesters during a protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in Istanbul, Turkey November 5, 2016." /></p><p></p>
<p>Thousands rallied in Istanbul on Sunday (November 20), protesting against the Turkish government and what they say is a clampdown on civil freedoms after a failed coup attempt earlier in the year.</p>
<p>NGOs, workers' unions and opposition parties came together in the Kartal district of Istanbul to protest against the ruling AKP party under the slogan: "We won't surrender', while Turkish police set up checkpoints around the area keeping a close eye on the demonstrators.</p>
<p>"Now the country [Turkey] is becoming a really bad place. We have innumerable problems. Only organised groups can confront these problems. So gathering here is very important," protester Vedat Sevim said.</p>
<p>Turkey is fighting an insurgency by PKK militants in the largely Kurdish southeast, but the arrest of pro-Kurdish politicians and journalists, part of a wider security clampdown in the wake of a failed July coup, has raised fears among Western allies for human rights in the country.</p>
<p>The crackdown on pro-Kurdish politicians has run parallel with a purge of people accused of ties to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Turkish authorities for masterminding July's coup attempt. Gulen denies the accusation.</p>
<p>More than 110,000 people have been sacked or suspended in the military, civil service, judiciary and elsewhere, while 36,000 people have been jailed pending trial as part of the investigation into the failed putsch.</p>
<p>Human rights groups and some Western allies have voiced concern at the scope of the purges, fearing President Tayyip Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to curtail dissent.</p>
<p>The Turkish government says the actions are justified given the threat to the state posed by the coup attempt, in which more than 240 people died.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-and-putin-spoke-in-lima-about-ukraine-and-syria-2016-11" >Obama and Putin spoke in Lima about Ukraine and Syria</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-gather-in-istanbul-to-protest-the-turkish-governments-crackdown-on-civil-freedoms-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/preauricular-sinus-small-hole-above-ear-2016-11">Here's why some people have a tiny hole above their ears</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/protests-are-erupting-in-south-korea-2016-11One of Asia's most long standing democracies is crackinghttp://www.businessinsider.com/protests-are-erupting-in-south-korea-2016-11
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 20:20:00 -0500Crystal Tai
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/582e2cdee02ba72e008b5099-2400/ap_16322282085428.jpg" alt="Protesters rally opposing the resignation of Park" data-mce-source="Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Protesters rally opposing the resignation of Park" /></p><p>Under a bright waxing moon, a band played traditional mudangchum music for an audience as they danced in front of a statue of Joseon-era admiral Yi Sun-sin.</p>
<p>Couples took selfies with murals and artworks erected by local artists nearby. Elsewhere, volunteers walked the streets picking up refuse, while camping tents pitched along the Chonggyecheon stream swayed slightly to the breeze as occupants slumbered inside.</p>
<p>Last Saturday and Sunday, crowds of over 500,000 South Koreans assembled in Gwanghwamun and City Hall district in Seoul.</p>
<p>If it wasn&rsquo;t for bright red picket signs, large banners with the word &ldquo;revolution&rdquo;, and chants of &ldquo;Park Geun-hye resign&rdquo;, the lively scene might have seemed more like a festival than an entire nation in a state of protest.</p>
<p><span>Since last month, South Korea has been mired in its biggest presidential scandal since the nation&rsquo;s democratisation almost three decades ago. President Park Geun-hye, daughter of the late former president and dictator Park Chun-hee, has been under public scrutiny for allegedly granting her friend and confidante, Choi Soon-sil, financial favours and unauthorised say over political matters.</span></p>
<p>Three major protests have taken place so far, each one larger than the last. At last week&rsquo;s event, participants included labour unions, university student unions, farmer unions, left-wing parties, families of the Sewol ferry disaster victims, feminist groups and citizens from all walks of life.</p>
<p>The congenial atmosphere was reminiscent of the early days of Hong Kong&rsquo;s own 2014 umbrella movement, when crowds of up to 200,000 camped out in Central over 74 days.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/582e2d99e02ba735318b4c4d-2400/ap_16311397684251.jpg" alt="Park Geun-hye" data-mce-source="Ed Jones/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Park Geun-hye" /></p>
<p><span>And while the historic rally in Hong Kong was centred around the pursuit of universal suffrage, some critics believe the underlying cause of frustration among protestors was due to a variety of social issues including economic inequality, lack of career prospects and social mobility, and the sky-high cost of living in the city.</span></p>
<p>South Korea also faces a myriad of similar but culture-specific issues. A combination of archaic social norms and corrupt institutions have contributed to the nation&rsquo;s serious issues of economic, social and gender inequalities.</p>
<p>The protests in Seoul have been peaceful and orderly so far, but some believe it is only a matter of time before the figurative levee breaks.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Frustrations run far deeper than any present [presidential] scandals,&rdquo; said Michael Hurt, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.</p>
<p><span>&ldquo;Class division and increasing income inequality adds to a growing sense that the old promises of sacrificing, working hard and simply getting by based on one&rsquo;s blood sweat and tears, is from a time that is no longer relevant.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p>Like many young Hongkongers, South Korean youths feel frustrated by the lack of career prospects and social mobility in their country.</p>
<p>Last month, the nation&rsquo;s unemployment rate was reported at 3.4 per cent according to Statistics Korea. Youth unemployment (ages 15-29) was recorded at 8.5 per cent year-on-year, the highest gain for October in 11 years.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/582e2e0ae02ba72b318b4c8a-2400/ap_16317415998399.jpg" alt="South Korean college students march after a rally calling for Park to step down." data-mce-source="Lee Jin-man/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="South Korean college students march after a rally calling for Park to step down." /></p>
<p>Hell Joseon, a term first popularised last year, is often used to describe inequality in South Korea.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We call Korea &lsquo;Hell Joseon&rsquo; because it was the name of a past dynasty known for its rigid social hierarchy,&rdquo; said Lee Se-young, a student protest organiser.</p>
<p>During the Joseon era, a time when bloodlines and family background were of utmost importance, the ruling class constituted just 10 per cent of the population.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This is an old-fashioned country,&rdquo; said Lee. &ldquo;We say there is no longer a caste system now, but it actually still exists&hellip; It&rsquo;s especially hard for younger generations because they officially enter this system after graduating from university.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In a recent op-ed in a local newspaper, Kim Nuri, a professor at Chung-ang University, said Korea was a country dominated by &ldquo;absolute rulers&rdquo;, including religious leaders, chaebols (Korean tycoons and conglomerates), politicians and professors at the top. &ldquo;The problem is not with Choi Soon-sil or president Park, but within our system of democracy,&rdquo; he wrote.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This society governed by authoritarianism and slavery [of the people below] is but a slave democracy.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Han Seung-hun, a third-year political science major at Konkuk University, said he was concerned about his future.</p>
<p>&ldquo;No matter how hard I work or study, if my family&rsquo;s social status does not improve, then I cannot advance. So you can&rsquo;t succeed with hard work only. If I want to move up, my parents and grandparents have to have been successful in the past.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;These kinds of frustrations are adding up, and someday our society will explode,&rdquo; said Han.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/582e2e4be02ba7e5008b50c9-2400/ap_16317137714732.jpg" alt="South Korean protesters" data-mce-source="Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="South Korean protesters" /></p>
<p>Women in Korea feel especially disillusioned about achieving their full potential in a patriarchal society.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There is a lot of sexism and inequality. That is a fact,&rdquo; said student protester Kim Yong-joo. &ldquo;Even when I try to get a job, people always prefer hiring men over women. And if I become pregnant, it will be hard to keep my job. And if I don&rsquo;t get married, people will think that something is wrong with me. There is nothing we can do.</p>
<p>&ldquo;[Growing up,] I knew Korea was not a perfect country to live in, but [the problems] didn&rsquo;t seem this serious,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>In a survey conducted by cable TV news JTBC last year, 88 per cent of 21,000 Korean respondents said they had thought about emigrating to another country because they did not like their own. Reasons included distrust in the government, career and financial concerns.</p>
<p>South Koreans are beginning to see the social reality of modern Korea, said academic Michael Hurt. &ldquo;People are starting to have a sense that not only is [their] democracy [a farce], but that the entire game is rigged, and that indeed the only people who get ahead are people with existing amounts of social and economic capital,&rdquo; said Hurt.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Korea is in the middle of a watershed moment in which the dominant programming and narratives they&rsquo;ve been given are being exposed as phoney.&rdquo;</p>
<p>At a press conference earlier this week, former opposition leader of Korea&rsquo;s liberal Minjoo party, Moon Jae-in called for major change. Our nation needs to break away from its past and start a new revolution, he said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We need to create a fair world without corruption and privilege, no more gutters and no more silver spoons.&rdquo;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/protests-are-erupting-in-south-korea-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plane-drops-armored-humvees-5000-feet-2016-11">Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-of-protestors-gather-at-trump-tower-in-new-york-2016-11Thousands of protesters gather at Trump Tower in New Yorkhttp://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-of-protestors-gather-at-trump-tower-in-new-york-2016-11
Sat, 12 Nov 2016 17:41:00 -0500Emmanuel Ocbazghi
<p>Thousands of anti-Trump protesters marched from Union Square in New York City, to Trump Tower, demonstrating against the new president-elect's rhetoric and his rise to the presidency.</p>
<p><strong>Follow BI Video:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BI_Video" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/BI_Video&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1479075592016000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFmNRajOMIbnMoCTF4N95ebYdga0Q">On&nbsp;Twitter</a><span>&nbsp;</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thousands-of-protestors-gather-at-trump-tower-in-new-york-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/truckers-protest-discontentment-russia-2016-11Truckers are resuming a rare display of mass discontentment in Russiahttp://www.businessinsider.com/truckers-protest-discontentment-russia-2016-11
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 12:14:19 -0500Robert Coalson
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5825fc0646e27a1b008b6284-2400/rtx1xre2.jpg" alt="russia truck protest" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov" data-mce-caption="Drivers stand in front of their trucks, as they take part in a protest against a new fee, at a parking lot in the Moscow region, Russia, December 8, 2015. As of last month, the state has started charging a fee for every kilometre that trucks over 12 tonnes in weight drive over Russian roads." /></p><p>Long-distance truck drivers across Russia have begun a new series of protests against a national highway toll system that was implemented last year.</p>
<p>The drivers, who snarled traffic across the country last winter in a rare display of open mass discontent in the Russia of President Vladimir Putin, began protesting in numerous cities on November 11 to mark the first anniversary of the implementation of the tolls.</p>
<p>The fees are set to be doubled in February 2017 after a compromise reached by protesters and the government in January expires. Under the system, the revenues raised -- estimated at $700 million per year -- are supposed to be used for infrastructure maintenance and development.</p>
<p>According to protest organizers, demonstrations were held in at least a dozen cities across Russia, with drivers crowding major thoroughfares by driving at slow speeds in all lanes and then assembling for rallies.</p>
<p>In the Moscow suburb of Khimki, police broke up the rally before it got under way and detained about 15 activists, as well as several journalists.</p>
<p>In the winter of 2015-16, protesters spent five months camped out in a Khimki parking lot in an unsuccessful effort to force the government to rescind the toll system.</p>
<p>Authorities in St. Petersburg denied a request to hold the protest, so drivers decided to act individually in trucks festooned with banners of the United Truck Drivers of Russia trade organization. Andrei Bazhutin, head of the union, told journalists in St. Petersburg that the truckers are insisting on the resignation of the government and, particularly, of Transportation Minister Maksim Sokolov.</p>
<p>Protesters were also reportedly detained in Ryazan and Tula.</p>
<p>According to the government, about 650,000 of the country's 1.5 million long-distance trucks have been registered with the toll system, which is called Platon. The system is administered by a company owned by a son of Arkady Rotenberg, an oligarch who was once Putin's judo sparring partner.</p>
<p>Protest activists claim the money paid into the system is either stolen by Platon's managers or used for other state budget needs.</p>
<p>Across the country on November 11, however, newspapers <a href="https://news.yandex.ru/yandsearch?lr=213&amp;cl4url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.znak.com%2F2016-11-11%2Fna_yuzhnom_urale_na_sbory_platona_otremontirovali_86_kilometrov_dorog&amp;text=%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD&amp;from=search" target="_blank">published articles </a>with similar headlines such as "The Platon System Repaired 86 Kilometers Of Roads In The Southern Urals" and "In Volgograd Oblast, 72 Kilometers Of Roads Were Repaired At Platon's Expense."</p>
<p>Surkhai Alimirzayev, who owns a trucking company in the North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, told RFE/RL that the tolls have crippled his business and that of many other drivers.</p>
<p>"Many people are trying to sell their trucks," he said. "I have also sold half of my vehicles and plan to sell another five in the near future. Fuel is expensive. Spare parts are expensive. And the roads haven't gotten any better.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-win-national-security-2016-11" >'Never Trump' national security experts react to his win: 'I'm totally f---ing horrified'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/truckers-protest-discontentment-russia-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-boeing-747-front-hump-2016-11">Here's why Boeing 747s have a giant hump in the front</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-donald-trump-protest-shut-down-nyc-2016-11Watch the Trump protest that shut down parts of New York Cityhttp://www.businessinsider.com/watch-donald-trump-protest-shut-down-nyc-2016-11
Thu, 10 Nov 2016 10:53:10 -0500Eames Yates
<div></div>
<p class="embed-spacer">Donald Trump's stunning presidential victory sparked celebration and outrage throughout the country. Here is a first-hand look at the Trump protest and police presence on November 9th in New York City. </p>
<p><strong>Follow BI Video:</strong><span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/BI_Video"><span class="s1">On Twitter</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-donald-trump-protest-shut-down-nyc-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/protesters-march-nyc-dc-los-angeles-chicago-tower-donald-trump-united-states-election-2016-11Anti-Trump protesters are starting fires and blocking freeways all around the countryhttp://www.businessinsider.com/protesters-march-nyc-dc-los-angeles-chicago-tower-donald-trump-united-states-election-2016-11
Thu, 10 Nov 2016 09:47:00 -0500Noah Friedman, Bryan Logan and Chris Sanchez
<p>Protests <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/anti-donald-trump-protest-united-states-2016-11" target="_blank">broke out all around the country</a> in response to Donald Trump's election victory.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Follow BI Video:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BI_Video"><span class="s1">On Twitter</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/protesters-march-nyc-dc-los-angeles-chicago-tower-donald-trump-united-states-election-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/south-koreans-stage-huge-protest-in-seoul-2016-11More than 40,000 South Koreans stage protest in Seoul calling on embattled president to resignhttp://www.businessinsider.com/south-koreans-stage-huge-protest-in-seoul-2016-11
Sat, 05 Nov 2016 11:41:05 -0400James Pearson
<p>SEOUL (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of<span> South </span><span>Korea</span>ns protested in central Seoul on Saturday in one the largest demonstrations in the country's capital for years, calling on embattled President Park Geun-hye to resign over a growing influence-peddling scandal.</p>
<p>Roughly 43,000 people were at the candle-lit rally early on Saturday evening, according to police. Organizers said a growing crowd of 100,000 had assembled, making the protest one of the biggest since demonstrations in 2008 against U.S. beef imports.</p>
<p><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thousands now marching in Seoul, calling for president to resign. Biggest Korean demonstration since 2008 beef protests. About 43,000 here. <a href="https://t.co/JCriIL02QV">pic.twitter.com/JCriIL02QV</a></p>— James Pearson (@pearswick) <a href="https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/794830830417784832">November 5, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Park Geun-hye has been rocked by a scandal involving an old friend who is alleged to have used her closeness to the president to meddle in state affairs. Park has pledged to cooperate with prosecutors in an investigation.</p>
<p><span>Korea</span>ns have been angered by the revelations and say Park, the latest<span> South</span><span>Korea</span>n leader to be embroiled in a scandal involving family or friends, has betrayed public trust and mismanaged her government.</p>
<p>Her approval rating has slipped to just 5 percent according to a Gallup poll released on Friday, the lowest number for a<span> South </span><span>Korea</span>n president since such polling began in 1988.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/581dfd04691e8861008b5027-2400/rtx2s0r4.jpg" alt="seoul" data-mce-source="Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Tens of thousands of South Korean people chant slogans during a rally calling on embattled President Park Geun-hye to resign over a growing influence-peddling scandal in central Seoul, South Korea, November 5, 2016."></p>
<p>Police said they had deployed 17,600 officers and 220 units including buses and mobile barriers to Saturday's protest.</p>
<p>Police in riot gear lined the alleys and streets leading to the presidential Blue House as the main body of the demonstration began the march through central Seoul.</p>
<p>Park has sacked many of her immediate advisers over the crisis. A former aide, Jeong Ho-seong, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of leaking classified information, a prosecution official told Reuters.</p>
<p>No<span> South </span><span>Korea</span>n president has ever failed to finish their five-year term, but Park has faced growing pressure from the public and political opponents to quit.</p>
<p>"Even though we're just students, we feel like we can't put up with this unreasonable society anymore so we're participating in this protest with like-minded friends," said Byun Woo-hyuk, an 18-year-old high school student holding a banner calling on the president to resign.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-koreans-stage-huge-protest-in-seoul-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-boeing-747-front-hump-2016-11">Here's why Boeing 747s have a giant hump in the front</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/police-pepper-sprayed-dakota-access-protesters-2016-11Police pepper-sprayed Dakota Access protesters as they tried to swim to the pipeline propertyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/police-pepper-sprayed-dakota-access-protesters-2016-11
Wed, 02 Nov 2016 19:03:04 -0400Blake Nicholson and John L. Mone
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/581a6d85b28a6436008b6702-2400/ap_16307784455345.jpg" alt="Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper sprayed by police." data-mce-source="John L. Mone/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper sprayed by police." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Oil-Pipeline-Protest/a5d00d51ad544b5aae64c37c1e0c44ca/3/0" /></p><p>Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer.</p>
<p>The confrontation came hours after North Dakota regulators criticized the pipeline company for not immediately reporting the discovery of American Indian artifacts and a day after President Barack Obama raised the possibility of future reroutes to alleviate tribal concerns.</p>
<p>Public Service Commission Chairwoman Julie Fedorchak said she was "extremely disappointed" that Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners waited 10 days before reporting last month's discovery of stone cairns and other artifacts. The panel could decide to levy fines of up to $200,000, Fedorchak said, though she said such a high amount would be unlikely.</p>
<p>After an inspection, company consultants decided to divert the construction by about 50 feet, even though they determined there was a "low likelihood" any additional artifacts were buried nearby. The State Historic Preservation Office did concur with the company's plan on how to proceed after the artifacts were found.</p>
<p>Although that change was relatively minor, Obama said it was possible the Army Corps of Engineers could eventually examine much larger ones that would reroute the pipeline in southern North Dakota to alleviate tribal concerns. He made the remarks during an interview Tuesday with the online news outlet NowThis.</p>
<p>On Wednesday afternoon, protesters tried to build a wooden pedestrian bridge across a creek to enter the property, then attempted to swim or boat across when officers dismantled the bridge, Morton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donnell Hushka said. Two arrests were reported.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/581a6c91362ca44a018b69a5-2400/ap_16307784388401.jpg" alt="Oil pipeline protest" data-mce-source="John L. Mone/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Oil pipeline protest" data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Oil-Pipeline-Protest/95694627d7be43c0a91c8da7ad7b13c3/1/0" /></p>
<p>Volunteer medics treated some of the protesters for hypothermia during the confrontation near the mouth of the Cannonball River.</p>
<p>About 140 people were arrested on the property last week in a law enforcement operation that cleared the encampment.</p>
<p>The potential for damage to American Indian sites and artifacts has been a flashpoint in a months-long protest over the pipeline, which is intended to carry crude from western North Dakota almost 1,200 miles to a shipping point in Patoka, Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation lies near the pipeline route, have led a protest over that issue and the pipeline's potential hazard to drinking water.</p>
<p>Tribal officials said in September they had identified cultural artifacts on private land along the route. After that finding, North Dakota's chief archaeologist, Paul Picha, inspected the area and said no sign of artifacts or human remains had been found.</p>
<p>Picha said he was notified in a timely manner of the most recent discovery in a new area but didn't report it to the commission because he thought the pipeline company would. Both Picha and Fedorchak said the site itself was properly handled, with Energy Transfer Partners moving the pipeline route to avoid the artifacts.</p>
<p>"We reviewed the information, wrote a letter of correspondence ... saying we agreed with the avoidance plan," Picha said.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/581a6e02b28a648f198b5ca4-2400/ap_16307784033868.jpg" alt="Demonstrators" data-mce-source="John L. Mone/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Demonstrators" /></p>
<p>He also noted that the rerouting isn't unusual. During development of the project, "there were multiple reroutes of the pipeline corridor for various reasons - cultural, environmental, landowner concerns - 140, 150 reroutes," he said.</p>
<p>Company spokeswoman Vicki Granado didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press about the potential for fines over the lag in reporting about the artifacts. The company would have an opportunity for a hearing to dispute any allegations. A company attorney said in an Oct. 27 letter to the PSC that the company didn't intentionally delay notifying the agency.</p>
<p>Although there's no set time frame for reporting such a discovery, PSC Commissioner Brian Kalk said that typically "the intent is immediately."</p>
<p>Fedorchak said the company could potentially be fined either for the reporting delay or for moving on with construction without getting PSC clearance. Both will be investigated, she said.</p>
<p>The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has not weighed in on the find. Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault and tribal Historic Preservation Officer Jon Eagle Sr. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>The 1,172-mile pipeline is largely complete outside of North Dakota. The federal government in September ordered a temporary halt to construction on corps land around and underneath Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir in the Dakotas. The corps is reviewing its permitting of the project but has given no timetable for a decision.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/police-pepper-sprayed-dakota-access-protesters-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insectothopter-cia-dragonfly-spy-drone-military-defense-espionage-spies-2016-12">In the 1970s the CIA created a spy drone the size of a dragonfly</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/dakota-access-protesters-say-police-held-them-in-dog-kennels-after-arrests-last-week-2016-10Dakota Access protesters say police held them in 'dog kennels' after arrests last weekhttp://www.businessinsider.com/dakota-access-protesters-say-police-held-them-in-dog-kennels-after-arrests-last-week-2016-10
Mon, 31 Oct 2016 13:20:03 -0400Sonam Sheth
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/581772a7b28a64c9018b5e30-2400/rtsqyb8.jpg" alt="RTSQYB8" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Caro Gonzales of Olympia, Washington, prays in front of police during a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline between the Standing Rock Reservation and the pipeline route outside the little town of Saint Anthony, North Dakota, U.S., October 5, 2016." /></p><p></p>
<p>Protesters of the Dakota Access oil pipeline were marked with numbers and held in dog kennels without bedding or furniture after being arrested on Thursday, Native American activists <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-north-dakota-pipeline-20161028-story.html">told the Los Angeles Times</a> last week.</p>
<p>During the protest, 141 people were arrested after law-enforcement officials in riot gear fired pepper spray and "sound cannon" blasts at activists, the Times said.</p>
<p>The Morton County Sheriff's Department <a href="http://www.co.morton.nd.us/vertical/Sites/%7B90CBB59C-38EA-4D41-861A-81C9DEBD6022%7D/uploads/10-27_Morton_Update_11pm.pdf">has said protesters threw</a> "rocks, logs, bottles, and other debris at officers." Authorities have said one protester shot at deputies as she was being arrested, which activists deny.</p>
<p>"We were caged in dog kennels, sat on the floor, and we were marked with numbers," Floris White Bull, a protester, said in an emotional video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYW7m9E94w0&amp;noredirect=1">posted to YouTube</a> last week. White Bull described watching Native American elders being violently arrested, calling it "traumatic."</p>
<p>"I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that this was something happening today," she added. "This isn't something we're reading about in history books."</p>
<p>Other protesters echoed <a href="https://twitter.com/lindablackelk/status/792112349666680833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">White Bull's statements</a> on Twitter.</p>
<p>All of the arrested protesters have been released on bail after an anonymous donor gave $2.5 million to the cause, News on 6 <a href="http://www.newson6.com/story/33516507/oklahoma-tribal-leader-arrested-at-dakota-access-pipeline-site">reported</a> on Sunday.</p>
<p>The Dakota Access Pipeline, a $3.7 billion project, would stretch 1,172 miles from North Dakota to Illinois. Supporters say it will help significantly boost economic growth and activity.</p>
<p>The pipeline's construction has been hampered by recurring protests over the past year, often leading to violent clashes between police officers and demonstrators.</p>
<p>The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, among others, has attempted to block the project because it is designed to pass through North Dakota's Lake Oahe, a sacred site and a major water source for the Standing Rock Sioux. The pipeline also passes through another major reservation.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/58177346b28a645d008b5df4-1800/rtx2qs53.jpg" alt="RTX2QS53" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline stand-off with police in this aerial photo of Highway 1806 and County Road 134 near the town of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., October 27, 2016." /></p>
<p>The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has said the pipeline threatens tribe members' "economic and environmental well-being," <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/31/us/dakota-access-pipeline/">according to CNN</a>.</p>
<p>The tribe's chairman, Dave Archambault II, <a href="http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/tribal-chairman-criticizes-law-enforcement-response-calls-for-pipeline-reroute/article_1bf1208f-b4d3-57fa-b9e2-6c69d7d85fc1.html">condemned</a> the actions of law-enforcement officials during Thursday's protests, saying on Saturday that it was "wrong to use that kind of force on our people."</p>
<p>Archambault also said he was considering taking legal action in the form of a class-action lawsuit against officers for their use of force.</p>
<p>Pipeline construction has resumed at the site of Thursday's protest. Approximately a mile away, activists at the main protest camp, the Oceti Sakowin camp, have begun protesting again as well.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-north-dakota-pipeline-protest-2016-9/#this-case-has-highlighted-the-need-for-a-serious-discussion-on-whether-there-should-be-nationwide-reform-with-respect-to-considering-tribes-views-on-these-types-of-infrastructure-projects-the-us-departments-of-justice-army-and-interior-said-in-a-joint-statement-after-the-judge-denied-the-request-4" >Thousands of protesters are gathering in North Dakota — and it could lead to 'nationwide reform'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dakota-access-protesters-say-police-held-them-in-dog-kennels-after-arrests-last-week-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wildfire-gatlinburg-tennessee-escape-footage-destroyed-homes-2016-11">Watch a man's dramatic escape from a raging wildfire in Tennessee</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/french-police-protests-fifth-night-lack-of-equipment-2016-10Thousands of police officers stage a nearly weeklong protest in Francehttp://www.businessinsider.com/french-police-protests-fifth-night-lack-of-equipment-2016-10
Fri, 21 Oct 2016 21:10:12 -0400Simon Carraud, Gerard Bon and Michel Rose
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/580ab8e88d83b41b5a8b4e9b-2400/2016-10-22t001213z_1_lynxnpec9l00y_rtroptp_4_france-security-police.jpg" alt="A policewoman takes part in a police officers unauthorised protest against anti-police violence in front of the Police Prefecture in Paris" data-mce-source="Jacky Naegelen/Reuters" data-mce-caption="A policewoman takes part in a protest against anti-police violence in Paris." /></p><p>PARIS (Reuters) - French police staged protests in<span> Paris </span>and other cities for a fifth night on Friday, in a movement showing no sign of abating despite President Francois Hollande's government attempts to defuse tensions just months before a presidential election.</p>
<p>Police say they are no longer sufficiently equipped even to defend themselves and have staged five nights of unauthorized demonstrations. Some 3,000 of them took to the streets on Thursday night, they said.</p>
<p>Hundreds of officers protested on Friday night in front of Notre Dame cathedral in central<span> Paris</span>, just opposite the central police headquarters. Other protests took place in Calais, Lille, Toulon and other cities.</p>
<p>Speaking from a European Council meeting in Brussels, Hollande said he would meet police representatives at his office early next week to hear their grievances.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/580ab94ec52402e6018b6483-2400/2016-10-22t001213z_1_lynxnpec9l00x_rtroptp_4_france-security-police.jpg" alt="French plainclothes policemen gather" data-mce-source="Pascal Rossignol/Reuters" data-mce-caption="French plainclothes policemen gather in Calais, France." /></p>
<p>Police discontent was fueled by an incident in a town near<span> Paris </span>earlier this month, where a gang petrol-bombed four police officers in a patrol car.</p>
<p>The car was stationed at a crossroads notorious for smash-and-grab robberies on motorists. Police say the gang tried to prevent the officers from getting out of the burning vehicle. Two of the four were seriously injured and one suffered life-threatening burns.</p>
<p>Unions say a surge in criminal gang activity and militant attacks has put extra strains on police.</p>
<p>Thousands of police and soldiers have been deployed to guard airports, train stations and other sites in response to Islamist attacks that have killed more than 230 people in France in the past two years.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Simon Carraud and Gerard Bon; Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Sandra Maler)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/french-police-protests-fifth-night-lack-of-equipment-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/income-state-top-one-percent-salary-map-2016-11">Here's how much you need to make to be in the top 1% of every state</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-police-defy-government-in-snowballing-protest-over-lawlessness-2016-10French police protests are ignoring government's demands to stophttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-police-defy-government-in-snowballing-protest-over-lawlessness-2016-10
Thu, 20 Oct 2016 06:56:00 -0400Brian Love
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58087d0d5124c9d804cf8f29-450-300/french-police-defy-government-in-snowballing-protest-over-lawlessness.jpg" alt="French plainclothes policemen gather during an unauthorised protest against anti-police violence on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, early October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier" border="0" /></p><p>PARIS (Reuters) - Hundreds of French police officers protested in Paris and other cities overnight to denounce what they say are insufficient resources to fight mounting lawlessness, defying government demands that they stop the unauthorized demonstrations.</p>
<p>Six months from an election, the protest, now in its third day, has put President Francois Hollande's Socialist government on the defensive at a time when security forces are struggling to combat the threat of further terrorist attack.</p>
<p>Political opponents have seized on the discontent to accuse it of letting violent crime and everyday lawlessness proliferate despite a large police recruitment drive.</p>
<p>"I understand the anger of the police," conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy said. "I've never seen such an erosion of authority in this country," Sarkozy, who is campaigning to become president again, told Europe 1 radio.</p>
<p>In Paris, hundreds of police officers protested at the Place de la Republique square and the Champs Elysees avenue, scene of similar protests earlier this week that have since spread to other cities.</p>
<p>Other impromptu protests took place overnight in Bordeaux, Nancy and Toulouse.</p>
<p>Thousands of police and soldiers have been deployed to boost security at airports, train stations and schools after a string of militant Islamist attacks in which more than 230 people have died in the past two years.</p>
<p>Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve promised police unions at a meeting Wednesday that local policing needs would be reviewed, but highlighted that his government had recruited 9,000 police to fill most of some 12,000 posts axed under Sarkozy's 2007-2012 administration.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5808a2d78d83b4b8628b54d3-2400/rtsnw89.jpg" alt="Demonstrators clash with French riot police during a march in Paris, France, to demonstrate against the new French labour law, September 15, 2016." data-mce-source="Charles Platiau/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Demonstrators clash with French riot police during a march in Paris, France, to demonstrate against the new French labour law, September 15, 2016." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/archive/FRANCE-POLITICS-PROTESTS-LR1EC9F163Q95.html" /></p>
<p>While police officers are allowed to protest like anybody else under French law, codes of conduct for law enforcement employees prohibit them from doing so during work hours, or with the use of police equipment such as official cars and uniforms.</p>
<p>The head of national police earlier this week told his staff to respect those rules and announced an inquiry to establish who was flouting them. Protesters have ignored his warnings and similar appeals from the government.</p>
<p>Sarkozy, who was an interior minister himself before he was president, said the problem was not one of resources but soft-touch sentences for known criminals, often juvenile offenders.</p>
<p>The catalyst for the police officers protest movement was an attack earlier this month in which a gang of 10 unidentified assailants petrol-bombed a police patrol car stationed at a crossroads south of Paris notorious for gangland crime.</p>
<p>One of the four police officers inside the car is still in a serious condition in hospital.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-thousands-rally-in-paris-to-protest-crime-targeting-chinese-2016-9" >Thousands rally in Paris to protest crime targeting Chinese</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-police-defy-government-in-snowballing-protest-over-lawlessness-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sadiq-khan-lashed-out-against-frances-burkini-ban-while-in-paris-2016-8">Women dressed in beachwear protested the burkini ban outside the French embassy in London</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/police-run-over-philippine-protesters-2016-10Police ran over protesters with a van during an anti-US demonstration in the Philippineshttp://www.businessinsider.com/police-run-over-philippine-protesters-2016-10
Wed, 19 Oct 2016 09:11:36 -0400Christopher Woody
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/58076c908d83b400018b5517-1223/screen%20shot%202016-10-19%20at%208.19.14%20am.png" alt="Philippines anti-US protest US embassy Manila" data-mce-source="Rappler" data-mce-caption="Several people were struck and at least one man run over by a police van during clashes in front of the US embassy in Manila, October 19, 2016." data-link="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149646-dispersal-protest-us-embassy-manila"></p><p></p>
<p>A rally by Philippine indigenous people protesting the US presence in the country turned violent early on Wednesday, as police efforts to disperse the crowd ended with a police van ramming and running over some demonstrators.</p>
<p>The protest was coming to an end when the police started trying to disperse the people who had gathered, the event's organizers — Sandugo, a recently formed alliance of minority groups — <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149646-dispersal-protest-us-embassy-manila" target="_blank">told</a> the Philippine news site Rappler.</p>
<p>During the clashes that followed, protesters threw bottles, paint bombs, and rocks at the police, while authorities fired tear gas and eventually drove a police vehicle toward the mass of people, <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149646-dispersal-protest-us-embassy-manila" target="_blank">according</a> to Rappler.</p>
<p>The Philippine police characterized the incident differently. "They weren't really run over," Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, the head of the National Capital Region Police Office, told Rappler.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58076eecc52402eb6b8b4f64-2400/ap_16293303343056.jpg" alt="Anti-US protest in Manila Philippines riot" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Bullit Marquez" data-mce-caption="Protesters hit a Philippine National Police van after it rammed into protesters outside the US Embassy in Manila, Wednesday, October 19, 2016. The police van rammed into protesters, leaving several bloodied, as an anti-US rally turned violent Wednesday at the embassy. The protesters, consisting of students, workers, and tribespeople, were demanding an end to the presence of visiting US troops in the Philippines and to support a call by President Rodrigo Duterte for a foreign policy not dependent on the US, the country's longtime treaty ally."></p>
<p>"The [protesters] were trying to flip over the patrol car. In the process, the driver extricated the patrol car and inadvertently hit some unruly protesters who sustained minor injuries," Albayalde <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149675-in-photos-police-van-runs-over-protesters-us-embassy?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=referral" target="_blank">added</a>.</p>
<p>"We had to disperse them. They started it. They were trying to enter the embassy," Chief Inspector Arsenio Riparip <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-philippine-police-van-runs-over-protesters-2016-10" target="_blank">told</a> AFP. "We had to use tear gas. They overpowered our policemen."</p>
<p>Riparip <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149675-in-photos-police-van-runs-over-protesters-us-embassy?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=referral" target="_blank">said</a> protesters also broke through a police line protecting the embassy's gates.</p>
<p>Television footage appeared to show a police van striking a group of protesters, reversing into them and then driving forward, leaving several people bloodied and at least one man stuck under the van's wheels.</p>
<p><div>
<iframe width="840" height="526" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vtQP63KPX6E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></p>
<p>"It was the police who attacked the protesters. First they rammed the police vehicle against the people. Then they released tear gas and hit us with truncheons," Amirah Lidasan, one of the leaders of the protest, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-philippine-police-van-runs-over-protesters-2016-10" target="_blank">told</a> AFP.</p>
<p>"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violent dispersal of the protest here at US Embassy which was led by our fellow Moro and Indigenous Peoples," Jerome Aba, the national spokesman of Suara Bangsamoro, <a href="https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/DevelopingPoliticalPartiesintheBangsamoroAnAssessmentofNeedsandOpportunities.pdf" target="_blank">a leftist group</a> representing indigenous peoples in the Philippines, said in a <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149646-dispersal-protest-us-embassy-manila" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>"This protest serves to highlight the imperialist plunder, abuses, and continued domination of the United States in the country," the statement continued.</p>
<p>About <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-philippine-police-van-seen-driving-at-protesters-at-anti-us-demo-2016-10" target="_blank">20</a> people were <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149675-in-photos-police-van-runs-over-protesters-us-embassy?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=referral" target="_blank">arrested</a> as a result of the clashes, including some people who the police said ran into police lines and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-philippine-police-van-rams-protesters-in-front-of-us-embassy-2016-10" target="_blank">threw red paint</a> at the US Embassy.</p>
<h2>'Running dogs of the US'</h2>
<p>The demonstrators had gathered in front of the US Embassy to protest the presence of the US and the military in their ancestral lands, <a href="http://www.rappler.com/nation/149646-dispersal-protest-us-embassy-manila" target="_blank">according</a> to Rappler.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58076f558d83b460078b54c7-2400/ap_16293291608420.jpg" alt="Anti-US protest US embassy Manila Philippines" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Bullit Marquez" data-mce-caption="Police and protesters clash during a violent protest outside the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, October 19, 2016. A Philippine police van rammed into protesters, leaving several bloodied, as an anti-US rally turned violent Wednesday at the US Embassy in Manila."></p>
<p>They were also calling for an end to the US's presence in the country and to back Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's independent foreign policy, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-philippine-police-van-rams-protesters-in-front-of-us-embassy-2016-10" target="_blank">according</a> to the Associated Press.</p>
<p>Duterte has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-philippine-leader-tells-obama-go-to-hell-says-can-buy-arms-from-russia-china-2016-10" target="_blank">inveighed</a> heavily against the US, lashing out at his country's longstanding ally for its criticism of his violent drug war, which is thought to have killed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-ill-humiliate-you-duterte-challenges-west-to-probe-philippines-drugs-war-2016-10" target="_blank">2,300</a> to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-high-popularity-but-dissent-exists-2016-10" target="_blank">3,600</a> people and possibly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-china-says-supports-philippines-duterte-drug-war-2016-10" target="_blank">more</a>. He has also raged against the US's legacy of abuse in the Philippines during the colonial period in the first half of the 20th century.</p>
<p>Duterte was in China during the protest, where he has traveled with a large delegation of business representatives, hoping to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-china-trip-negotiations-2016-10" target="_blank">secure billions in Chinese investments and improve ties with Beijing</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/580747ad5124c9e9240ecd73-800/philippines-says-lifetime-sea-row-no-barrier-to-thawing-china-ties.jpg" alt="President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte (L) shakes hands with Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua (R), as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) looks on, at airport in Beijing, China, October 18, 2016. CNS Photo via REUTERS" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte shakes hands with Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua, as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi looks on, at airport in Beijing"></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-china-trip-negotiations-2016-10" target="_blank">Duterte has garnered high approval</a> ratings over his first three months as president, in part because of his nationalist stances and tough talk.</p>
<p>Paradoxically, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-china-trip-negotiations-2016-10" target="_blank">US also maintains high approval ratings</a> among Filipinos, even as Duterte's rhetoric against Washington has resonated with some of his constituents.</p>
<p>"There was absolutely no justification (for the violence)," Renato Reyes, the secretary-general of the left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), told reporters, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-philippine-police-van-seen-driving-at-protesters-at-anti-us-demo-2016-10" target="_blank">according</a> to Reuters. "Even as the president avowed an independent foreign policy, Philippine police forces still act as running dogs of the US."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-china-trip-negotiations-2016-10" >The Philippines' president is betting big on a trip to China, but he may be overplaying his hand</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/police-run-over-philippine-protesters-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippines-president-duterte-hitler-slaughter-drug-addicts-2016-9">Philippines president compares himself to Hitler — says he’d be happy to 'slaughter' 3 million drug addicts</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-anti-gay-marriage-protesters-march-to-revive-issue-before-polls-2016-10Thousands of protesters take to the streets in French anti-gay marriage demonstrationhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-anti-gay-marriage-protesters-march-to-revive-issue-before-polls-2016-10
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 14:10:00 -0400Marine Pennetier and Clotaire Achi
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5803bf97c524021c008b4a12-2400/rtx2p1fk.jpg" alt="anti-gay protest Paris" data-mce-source="Reuters/Benoit Tessier" data-mce-caption="Ludovine de La Rochere, president of the anti-gay marriage movement La Manif Pour Tous takes part in the &amp;quotLa Manif Pour Tous&amp;quot (Demonstration For All) to protest against PMA (Procreation Medicalement Assistee or Medically Assisted Reproduction) and GPA (Grossesse pour Autrui or Gestation for Others) during a march in Paris, France, October 16, 2016." /></p><p>PARIS (Reuters) - Thousands of opponents of gay marriage took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to defend their vision of family values, hoping to revive the issue in political debates ahead of next year's presidential election.</p>
<p>About 24,000 people took part in the demonstration, police said, far fewer than the several hundreds of thousands the group "Demo for All" mobilized in 2012 and 2013 in an unexpectedly strong show of opposition from conservatives, especially Roman Catholics.</p>
<p>The Socialist government legalized same-sex marriage, which it called "Marriage for All", in 2013.</p>
<p>Police said 13 people were arrested after a scuffle at the protest, including six topless women from the activist group Femen. Some of them had words "Hate is not a family value" scrawled on their chests.</p>
<p>Organizers of Sunday's protest aim to pressure politicians on the right, who face a presidential primary next month, to agree to repeal the law if they are elected president.<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5803bfc9c52402f8058b494a-2400/rtx2p1g0.jpg" alt="anti-gay protest Paris" data-mce-source="Reuters/Benoit Tessier" data-mce-caption="People wave flags and hold signs with messages as demonstrators take part in the &amp;quotLa Manif Pour Tous&amp;quot (Demonstration For All) to protest against PMA (Procreation Medicalement Assistee or Medically Assisted Reproduction) and GPA (Grossesse pour Autrui or Gestation for Others) during a march in Paris, France, October 16, 2016." /></p>
<p>The protesters marched through prosperous western sections of Paris, waving French flags and the "Demo for All" movement's blue and pink colors. Some held signs declaring "All together for the family" and "In 2017, I'll vote for the family."</p>
<p>Organizers estimated the turnout at 200,000.</p>
<p>"Even if the gay marriage law has been adopted, we will continue the protest to show that it is not good and we want it to be repealed. We want to influence the political debate that will take place in the coming months," said one protester.</p>
<p>Opinion polls show that a majority in France do not want the gay marriage law to be repealed.</p>
<p>Demonstrators also spoke out against surrogate motherhood, which gay couples could use to create a family.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5803c1adc524022f068b494e-2400/rtx2p1vu.jpg" alt="anti-gay marriage protest" data-mce-source="Reuters/Benoit Tessier" data-mce-caption="People wave flags and hold signs with messages as demonstrators take part in the &amp;quotLa Manif Pour Tous&amp;quot (Demonstration For All) to protest against PMA (Procreation Medicalement Assistee or Medically Assisted Reproduction) and GPA (Grossesse pour Autrui or Gestation for Others) during a march in Paris, France, October 16, 2016" />Same-sex marriage proponents pushed for surrogacy to also be allowed in the 2013 law, but the government decided not to revoke the current ban after seeing the unexpected protests that "Demo for All" staged during the heated debate over the reform.</p>
<p>Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is trailing rival Alain Juppe in the race to head the conservative Republicans party ticket in 2017 election, said on Sunday he would not repeal same-sex marriage if he were returned to the Elysee Palace.</p>
<p>"I believe France has many other important issues to deal with such as security, terrorism and unemployment, rather than recreate conditions for another hysterical debate," Sarkozy said during a political discussion show.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-wins-court-battle-with-libyan-fund-2016-10" >Goldman Sachs won a 2.5-year legal battle with a Libyan fund — but it got bruised along the way</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-anti-gay-marriage-protesters-march-to-revive-issue-before-polls-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plane-drops-armored-humvees-5000-feet-2016-11">Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/china-last-tiananmen-prisoner-to-be-released-2016-10China is reportedly releasing the last Tiananmen detainee — but he might find himself stepping into 'a bigger prison'http://www.businessinsider.com/china-last-tiananmen-prisoner-to-be-released-2016-10
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 22:27:44 -0400Louise Liu
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58017cddc5240220008b48f5-885/enhanced-buzz-wide-4701-1338497429-4.jpg" alt="tank man" data-mce-source="Photographer: Jeff Widener" data-link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man" /></p><p>The final prisoner from China's 1989 Tiananmen Square protests will reportedly be released on Saturday after spending nearly three decades in jail, <a href="http://duihua.org/wp/?page_id=10582">a human-rights group said</a>.</p>
<p>Miao Deshun, who is now reportedly in poor health, "might find himself leaving a small jail but entering a bigger prison," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/world/24prize.html?_r=0"> Hu Jia</a>, a well-known human-rights advocate who had been jailed for rebuking the Communist Party and who is also <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/world/asia/09dissident.html">severely ill</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/27-years-later-china-to-release-the-final-prisoner-from-tiananmen-square-protests/2016/10/14/5bd54aae-91ed-11e6-81c3-fb2fde4e7164_story.html">told The Washington Post</a>.</p>
<p>"He&rsquo;s likely to find himself surrounded by state security police upon his release, something unimaginable before he went to jail," Hu said. "Release from jail does not necessarily mean more freedom."</p>
<p>The communist government of China brutally suppressed the student-led protests that called for democracy and freedom, which they labeled as a &ldquo; counterrevolutionary riot."</p>
<p>It led to a crackdown on June 4, 1989, in which the government deployed troops and tanks and left an unknown number dead &mdash; 241 from the government&rsquo;s official report, though estimates range from the hundreds to the thousands.</p>
<p>The Tiananmen Square protests, along with the crackdown, remain taboo in mainland China. The Communist Party has censored the word &ldquo;Tiananmen&rdquo; online and cut it from its history textbooks. Young people educated in the mainland, who don&rsquo;t have access to much foreign media &mdash; most of which are blocked by the &ldquo;Great Firewall&rdquo; &mdash; will have no way to find out about the crackdown.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/58017d55c52402c3008b48cf-2000/ap_16288320900661.jpg" alt="Tiananmen Square protests" data-mce-source="Jeff Widener/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Tiananmen Square protests" />Miao was sentenced to death with reprieve for allegedly throwing a basket into a burning tank during the crackdown.</p>
<p>His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment in 1991, reduced to 20 years in 1998, and reduced again by 11 months this year &mdash; resulting in his release from the Yanqing Prison on October, 15, Dui Hua, a San Francisco-based human rights group, said in a statement in May.</p>
<p>But the Associated Press <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_TIANANMEN_PRISONER?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">reported</a> the date "could not be independently verified" since the Ministry of Public Security and the Beijing Higher People&rsquo;s Court had not responded to faxed requests for comment.</p>
<p>The 51-year-old former factory worker "refused to do hard labor, refused re-education, refused to write repentance letters," Wu Wenjian, a fellow former inmate of Miao, told the Associated Press, and said Miao's stubbornness had brought him heavier punishments and periods of solitary confinement.</p>
<p>&ldquo;At that time, whoever got a suspended death sentence would at least pretend to accept the sentence and the reform education, but he wouldn&rsquo;t," Wu <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/27-years-later-china-to-release-the-final-prisoner-from-tiananmen-square-protests/2016/10/14/5bd54aae-91ed-11e6-81c3-fb2fde4e7164_story.html">told The Washington Post</a>. "He kept appealing and refused to be reformed.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/58017d78c52402c9008b48f9-2000/ap_16288320910549.jpg" alt="AP_16288320910549" data-mce-source="Jeff Widener/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Tiananmen Square protest" /></p>
<p>Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump &mdash; the Democratic and Republican candidates in the US presidential election &mdash; have in the past weighed in on China's troubled human-rights history.</p>
<p>In 2009, while she served as secretary of state, Clinton called on China to acknowledge the &ldquo;darker events of its past&rdquo; on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square tragedy. She also urged the Chinese government to not only "provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing," but to also "learn and to heal," <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8080437.stm">according to the BBC</a>. Beijing rejected Clinton's words at the time, calling them &ldquo;groundless accusations.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Donald Trump called the Tiananmen Square protests a &ldquo;riot" <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/11/trump-just-called-tiananmen-square-a-riot-the-communist-party-will-be-pleased/">during a GOP primary debate</a> in March, and called China a &ldquo;strong, powerful government&rdquo; that put down the turmoil with &ldquo;strength.&rdquo;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-last-tiananmen-prisoner-to-be-released-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-washington-dc-president-white-house-kalorama-2016-11">Here’s the $5.3 million mansion the Obamas will live in after the White House</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-backtracks-statement-on-colin-kaepernick-2016-10Ruth Bader Ginsburg backtracks on Kaepernick: 'My comments were inappropriately dismissive and harsh'http://www.businessinsider.com/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-backtracks-statement-on-colin-kaepernick-2016-10
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 15:45:16 -0400Lawrence Hurley
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/580134228d83b400018b4701-2400/ap_16284711165238.jpg" alt="Ruth Bader Ginsburg" data-mce-source="Michael Dwyer/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Ruth Bader Ginsburg" /></p><p>U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday called her criticism of National Football League player Colin Kaepernick "inappropriately dismissive and harsh" and said she should not have commented on his protest against racism and police brutality in the United States.</p>
<p>Ginsburg, the court's senior liberal justice, told Yahoo News on Monday that Kaepernick was "dumb and disrespectful" for refusing to stand during the national anthem before games.</p>
<p>"Barely aware of the incident or its purpose, my comments were inappropriately dismissive and harsh. I should have declined to respond," Ginsburg said in her statement on Friday.</p>
<p>In the Yahoo News interview, Ginsburg equated Kaepernick's action to burning the American flag. "I think it's a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn't lock a person up for doing it," she said.</p>
<p>Kaepernick on Wednesday told reporters that Ginsburg's comments were "disappointing," according to media reports.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-backtracks-statement-on-colin-kaepernick-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ruth-bader-ginsburg-slams-colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-racial-injustice-nfl-2016-10">'Dumb and disrespectful': Ruth Bader Ginsburg slams Colin Kaepernick over national anthem protest</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/shailene-woodley-arrested-trespassing-in-protest-2016-10Movie star Shailene Woodley has been arrested for alleged trespassing in protesthttp://www.businessinsider.com/shailene-woodley-arrested-trespassing-in-protest-2016-10
Mon, 10 Oct 2016 15:57:49 -0400Paul Schrodt
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/55c3a850371d222e008bd949-2400/gettyimages-469512212.jpg" alt="shailene woodley" data-mce-source="Jason Merritt/Getty" /></p><p>Shailene Woodley has been arrested for alleged trespassing&nbsp;amid a protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2016/10/10/shailene-woodley-arrested-dakota-pipeline-protest/" target="_blank">TMZ reports</a>.</p>
<p>The star of the "Divergent" movies and "The Descendants" was arrested Monday morning. She was one of 100 people protesting the pipeline in Sioux County, North Dakota.</p>
<p>Cops eventually came in and arrested 27 protesters, among them Woodley, who has called the protest "peaceful," according to TMZ.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2017-oscars-predictions-2016-10" >Here are the must-see movies most likely to win Oscars in 2017</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shailene-woodley-arrested-trespassing-in-protest-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/walking-dead-morse-code-daryl-rick-theory-2016-11">‘The Walking Dead’ fans think they uncovered something huge in this scene from the latest episode</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-polands-parliament-rejects-plans-for-near-total-abortion-ban-2016-10Polish parliament has withdrawn its plan for a near-total abortion banhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-polands-parliament-rejects-plans-for-near-total-abortion-ban-2016-10
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 06:09:00 -0400Pawel Sobczak and Marcin Goettig
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57f5157e5124c9f10220d18c-800/abortion-protests-rattle-polish-ruling-party-may-prompt-rethink.jpg" alt="A woman observes thousands of people during an abortion rights campaigners' demonstration to protest against plans for a total ban on abortion in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland October 3, 2016. Agencja Gazeta/Slawomir Kaminski/via REUTERS " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="A woman observes thousands of people during an abortion rights campaigners' demonstration to protest against plans for a total ban on abortion in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw" /></p><p>Polish lawmakers withdrew draft legislation on Thursday that would introduce a near-total ban on abortion, in a hastily arranged vote that marks the first major domestic setback for the ruling conservatives and follows massive street protests.</p>
<p>Up to 100,000 women dressed in black protested throughout Poland on Monday against plans to tighten the country's already restrictive abortion rules.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-womens-health-platforms-positions-2016-9" >Here's how Clinton and Trump compare on abortion</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-polands-parliament-rejects-plans-for-near-total-abortion-ban-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-trump-garbled-stance-on-abortion-2016-4">'Is abortion murder?' — Watch Trump's latest garbled response</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/rice-farmer-death-in-south-korea-becomes-central-to-protest-movement-2016-10Why the death of one rice farmer has captivated South Koreahttp://www.businessinsider.com/rice-farmer-death-in-south-korea-becomes-central-to-protest-movement-2016-10
Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:09:00 -0400Steven Borowiec
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57f0069211c8e71b008b4c0b-2400/ap_16270314998578.jpg" alt="Baek Nam-gi" data-mce-source="Ahn Young-joon" /></p><p>Early one Saturday morning in November of last year, farmer Baek Nam-gi left his home in the rural south of South Korea, and with dozens of fellow farmers, boarded a bus bound for Gwanghwamun Square, a public space in the heart of the capital, Seoul, and a frequent venue for protests.</p>
<p>On that day, Gwanghwamun was the site of an exceptionally tense demonstration against the conservative government of President Park Geun-hye. Baek and his colleagues were pushing for intervention in the rice market, asking the government to guarantee purchase of excess supply in order to keep prices up. The farmers said that with bumper harvests causing a supply glut, prices had fallen so low they were barely scraping by.</p>
<p>That day&rsquo;s protests turned violent, with dozens of arrests after activists clashed with police. By the end of the day, a haunting image of Baek was being shared widely across the Korean language internet, showing the 68-year-old splayed on his back, awash in the frothy discharge from police water cannons.</p>
<p>During the protest, Baek was hit by the jet from a water cannon, fell back, hit his head and lost consciousness. He was taken to hospital, and for the next several months, as he lay in a coma, his name became a rallying cry for the country&rsquo;s liberal opposition as a bitter debate broke out over whether the police spraying a water cannon at protesters was a legitimate, or excessive, use of force.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/57f0071111c8e71c008b4c17-2000/ap_16270315628975.jpg" alt="protests about Baek Nam-gi" data-mce-source="Ahn Young-joon" /></p>
<p>That debate picked up momentum this week, when after nearly ten months in a coma, Baek died, his passing coming at a time when rice prices are still tumbling, and South Korea&rsquo;s farmers are growing more desperate.</p>
<p>Three consecutive years of bumper harvests have created a spike in the supply of rice, which along with a decline in domestic consumption, has led to some of the lowest prices in years. <a href="http://www.segye.com/content/html/2016/09/12/20160912003302.html">Data from the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural</a> affairs show a steady slide in prices since 2013, with an 80kg bag costing a little less than US$160 in that year, compared to around US$125 this month.</p>
<p>Rice has long been Korea&rsquo;s staple food item. Fluffy white grains are served with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the common daytime greeting isn&rsquo;t &ldquo;Hello&rdquo; or &ldquo;How are you?&rdquo;, but &ldquo;Have you had rice?&rdquo; The importance of rice is underscored in music, visual art and literature, where it is often used as a metaphor for warmth and comfort. In many Korean stories, whether or not the characters have rice means the difference between death and survival, or comfort and destitution.</p>
<p>When making their case to the government, South Korean farmers tap into this centrality, appealing to the public&rsquo;s emotions and the special place that rice occupies in the Korean psyche. At rallies, farmers wear grim facial expressions while holding placards with messages such as &ldquo;Rice is Life,&rdquo; and sometimes shed tears as they set fire to rice plants.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/57f008a311c8e79d018b4bfc-2000/ap_463504996775.jpg" alt="south korea rice protesters" data-mce-source="AP/Ahn Young-hoon" /></p>
<p>But at least in terms of government support, South Korean farmers already have it pretty good. <a href="https://data.oecd.org/agrpolicy/agricultural-support.htm">Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development</a> show that of 36 countries surveyed, South Korea was second only to Turkey in the generosity of its support for agriculture.</p>
<p>And it&rsquo;s not clear how effective a strategy government intervention in the rice market really is, said Stefan Tangermann, a retired professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of G&ouml;ttingen in Germany. Tangermann said that &ldquo;fiddling with market prices would create economic inefficiencies and also have negative impacts on consumer well-being. A more efficient and also more effective approach to supporting farmers&rsquo; incomes is to provide direct payments unrelated to the production of rice.&rdquo;</p>
<p>So far, the government&rsquo;s efforts to keep prices up haven&rsquo;t amounted to much. &ldquo;The government&rsquo;s goal is to keep rice at 180,000 won [US$163] per 80kg bag, and they&rsquo;ve tried to get it there by purchasing rice and keeping it off the market, but so far they haven&rsquo;t been successful in elevating prices,&rdquo; said Jo Nam-uk, a Korea Rural Economic Institute researcher specialising in rice policy.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57f0092a11c8e79d018b4bfd-2400/ap_09111703998.jpg" alt="south korea rice protest" data-mce-source="AP/Ahn Young-joon" /></p>
<p>The farmers&rsquo; insistence that their government step in and set matters in their favour is a symptom of a particular situation in Korea, where interest groups of all kinds rely on their elected leaders for solutions, said Michael Breen, a Seoul-based historian and author of the forthcoming, The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation.<br />Breen said it was &ldquo;the government that&rsquo;s seen as ultimately responsible for everything here, regardless of what happens in the economy."</p>
<p>Baek was a longtime activist, having protested against the authoritarian regimes that ruled South Korea in the 1970s and 80s, causing him to be twice expelled from university by government order. He was active in the street protests that pushed out the country&rsquo;s military regime in 1988 and achieved multi-party democracy. But instead of settling in Seoul and taking up a public life in politics or journalism, as many other activists did, Baek returned to his home region and took up farming. His humble lifestyle further endeared him to supporters, and was recalled fondly by many grieving his death.</p>
<p>In recent years, though he struggled to make ends meet and remained politically engaged, Baek mostly enjoyed a quiet lifestyle, tending his fields and relaxing with his wife, son, two daughters and grandchildren. This week, <a href="http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2016/09/25/0200000000AKR20160925063800004.HTML" title="www.yonhapnews.co.kr">another image of Baek made the rounds on Korean social media</a>, this one of him smiling placidly in a funeral portrait, surrounded by white flowers atop a memorial altar. With that image being displayed at supporters&rsquo; events across the country, Baek&rsquo;s memory may be sowing new seeds for the farmers&rsquo; movement to keep trudging along.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-gold-helped-south-korea-repay-its-debt-2016-9" >How gold helped South Korea repay its debt</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rice-farmer-death-in-south-korea-becomes-central-to-protest-movement-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-trump-different-reactions-colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest-2016-9">Obama and Trump have two very different reactions to Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/me-cfs-protest-government-2016-9More than a million Americans are suffering from a debilitating disease that makes simple tasks impossible — and they're fed up with being ignoredhttp://www.businessinsider.com/me-cfs-protest-government-2016-9
Thu, 29 Sep 2016 18:50:00 -0400Rafi Letzter
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57ecfe4cb0ef977f298b8a76-1200/me cfs protest millions missing.jpg" alt="ME CFS protest millions missing" data-mce-source="Rafi Letzter/Business Insider" /></p><p></p>
<p>Imagine living with a disease that renders you disabled and exhausted, unable to meet the physical demands of daily living. Now imagine that much of the medical establishment refused to believe your disease was "real" in the sense of a physical illness and failed to fund research into its true causes and treatment.</p>
<p>That's the situation of the more than 1 million people in the US living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS. The disease causes crippling exhaustion, particularly after exercise, as well as pain, nonrestorative sleep, and other issues. It often, but not always, arises suddenly after an illness like the flu. Science still can't explain what causes it or offer useful treatments.</p>
<p>In fact, up to this point, research has arguably done ME/CFS patients more harm than good.</p>
<p>As Julie Rehmeyer, herself an ME/CFS patient, <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/21/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-pace-trial/">reported in STAT</a>, a bad 2011 study known as the PACE trial suggested that the disease was psychological and should be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise. That research, it turns out, was based on faulty methods and suggested interventions that might have made people's symptoms worse, not better. But it took patients until 2015 to <a href="http://www.virology.ws/2015/10/21/trial-by-error-i/">prove it</a>.</p>
<p>Also in 2015, the Institute of Medicine <a href="http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2015/ME-CFS.aspx">published a highly anticipated report</a> concluding that "ME/CFS is a serious, chronic, complex, systemic disease that often can profoundly affect the lives of patients." The report estimated that 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans were suffering from it and said "misconceptions or dismissive attitudes on the part of healthcare providers make the path to diagnosis long and frustrating for many patients."</p>
<p>But ME/CFS has a history of being dismissed and ignored, and a culture had already developed of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25695122">not taking the disabilities of people with the disease seriously</a>. Little funding flows toward ME/CFS research.</p>
<p>As the Institute of Medicine report <a href="http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2015/MECFS/MECFS_ReportBrief.pdf">noted</a>, "Remarkably little research funding has been made available to study the cause of ME/CFS, mechanisms associated with the development and progression of the disease, or effective treatment, especially given the number of people affected."</p>
<h2>'It's almost impossible to get anyone to pay attention to this disease'</h2>
<p>That's why several dozen patients and allies gathered outside the Health and Human Services office in New York City on Tuesday to demand more funding and attention for the disease. Many leaned on light poles, sat on the ground, or sat in wheelchairs throughout the protest. Several used video chat to attend virtually from their beds.</p>
<p>It was one of several similar scenes playing out in cities across the country as part of the <a href="http://millionsmissing.org/">#MillionsMissing</a> protest network.</p>
<p>"This is the first time I'm really meeting other patients with ME, because we all are so isolated from each other," Paris Abell, a corporate lawyer with ME/CFS who attended the protest, told Business Insider. "It can take so long to get a diagnosis and then you're just focused on your day-to-day function and then you're just trying to go on living every day. And it's almost impossible to get anyone to pay attention to this disease or take it seriously."</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57ed06c9077dccca798b6c17-1200/me cfs.jpg" alt="me cfs" data-mce-source="Rafi Letzter/Business Insider" />Speakers told stories of suddenly losing their mobility and the physical stamina to meet the demands of everyday life. They described going years without diagnoses and the sense that "chronic fatigue syndrome" is a name used to imply people with a physical disease are mentally ill.</p>
<p>Activists from <a href="http://www.actupny.org/">Act Up</a>, an organization founded in the 1980s to demand attention and funding to combat AIDS at a time when the government was largely unwilling to acknowledge it, joined the small protest to express their support.</p>
<p>In the more than a year since the PACE trial, there has been some forward motion on the disease. Researchers, some of whom attended the protest, have begun to take ME/CFS seriously. And 55 members of Congress recently sent a <a href="http://www.meaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Letter-from-CongressSep2016.pdf">letter</a> to the National Institutes of Health requesting that the agency take on ME/CFS as a national medical problem.</p>
<p>But progress remains slow, as the recent Institute of Medicine report made clear, arguing that "more research is urgently needed."</p>
<p>At the end of the protest, activists carried a giant "report card" covered in facts about ME/CFS up the steps of the Health and Human Services building. The grades: all Fs.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-cure-all-disease-explained-2016-9" >Here's what's behind Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's $3 billion plan to cure all disease</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-gay-sexual-orientation-science-2016-9" >Science can't explain sexual orientation — here's why</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/me-cfs-protest-government-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spot-massive-hole-sun-coronal-hole-video-2016-12">NASA just spotted a massive hole growing on the sun — here’s what it means</a></p>